Common Sense

"Women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.”

- Constable M.S.to Toronto law students,Jan. 2011


Look, I’m not saying that mugging is okay, folks. I think it’s very sad, that young man in the hospital fighting for his life after those thugs beat him with a street sign and left him to die on the sidewalk like that, with all of his teeth removed, one by one. I’m not for a minute saying that’s the kind of community we want to live in. Don’t get me wrong.

I do, however, think we need to think very seriously about the messages we are sending our youth. That young man was out jogging in the evening in brand new sneakers, and wearing BodyArmour work out clothes. It’s not just that the clothes are expensive, although that’s something to think about. It’s that the clothes are trendy - that they say “I have so much money I can sweat in clothes that you can’t even afford to touch.” Does it matter that he was downtown, near those fancy shops? No. Those shops had been closed for more than an hour.

The critical reality is that these young men not only flaunt their cash. They make others want it. At some point, it’s baiting. Why would you drive a Jaguar if you didn’t want to get car-jacked? Why would you wear a $780.00 tie if you didn’t want someone to notice the thickness of the wallet in your back pocket and try to pick it? It’s just common sense. We have to be smarter about how we move through the world. Designer suits and shoes send a clear message - “I have it, and I know you want it.” They say, “Notice me!” Once you beg for everyone’s attention like that- you lose control over how that attention is going to take shape. You might just lose your teeth. This is common sense. This bulging-pocket-businessman look - this sort of flaunting - is going to lead to trouble, and we can no longer pretend to ignore it.

You want to avoid getting your teeth stolen? Drive a Subaru. That’s what smart men do.
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